Last night’s 1-3″ of snow in the Twin Cities was part of the same storm system still over the central United States today. Central and northern Minnesota along a line from Alexandria to Brainerd to Duluth and points north will see 7-12″ of snow today into early Thursday morning – the weight of that snow could cause power outages and travel will be difficult especially this afternoon and evening. Lake effect snow along the north shore of Lake Superior will push snowfall totals up to 18″ in spots northeast of Duluth. Freezing rain in far western Minnesota near the South Dakota border will cause icy conditions too.

Farther south in southern Wisconsin, southeast Iowa, Illinois and points south into Arkansas will see severe thunderstorms with large hail, flooding rain, damaging winds and tornadoes. Widespread thunderstorm damage is possible today from Little Rock, Arkansas northeast to Memphis and up to western Kentucky and southern Illinois.

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The Twin Cities will be in a calmer area of the storm system today into Thursday morning, but it will be wet and cold with rain likely today through early Thursday they will mix with snow at times this evening and could put down 1″ of snow overnight in the northwest suburbs north and west of downtown Minneapolis. Thunderstorms are also possible today in the Twin Cities especially in the southeast suburbs south of downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. Temperatures today will be near 40 degrees with east winds at 10-20 mph becoming west at 10 to 20 mph by this evening.

It will be cold but dry for the Minnesota Twins opener at Target Field on Thursday with partly to mostly cloudy skies and west-northwest winds at 10-15 mph with temperatures in the low to mid 40s.

Temperatures will stay below average through the upcoming weekend mainly in the 40s for highs then warm into the 60s by Wednesday April 9. JONATHAN YUHAS